In this world and the next
by evincis
Summary: Tag to the season 1 finale. Alert: major character death. What if turning back to wood really meant August dying? How would Emma cope with his death? Will she ever find hapiness in this world? How about the next. One shot.


_AN/ What if Pinocchio never turns back into a real man. What if he dies? Tag to season 1 finale. I though of this when I watched the episode where Pinocchio pretends to be Bealfire and Rumple says that he's dying. _

_For info, I DON'T want this to happen in the show. I love August and I definitely don't want him to die. And Eion Baley is an amazing actor and they should keep him for as long as they can. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Once upon a time or its characters. This story has no commercial purpose and means no copyright infringement. Please do not publish without my explicit authorization._

The Jonathan was cleaning the leaves in front of the royal crypt when he saw an old woman approach the stairs.

"Your Highness" He bowed.

"Jonathan." She nodded. "Why don't you take a break? The lake is beautiful this time of year."

"Very well, your highness." He bowed and he took a step away of the mausoleum. He had had the same encounter with the woman for as long as he was a gardener at the Royal Palace. Every morning at 8 o'clock she would come here to talk to the man lying in the crypt. Every morning, she would go out, half an hour later, she would wipe the tears form her eyes and she would return to the palace, to her royal duties until the day her son took over.

"Who is she?" his son asked. "Why does she come here every day?"

"Her name is Emma, daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. The woman who saved us all from Queen Regina's curse. She is here to see her one true love. The man who loved her more than life itself and who she loved just as much."

"Was he the King?"

"No. They never married. He died before they could ever be together." Jonathan answered and started telling him the saddest love story that the boy would hear. "It happened long ago. All started when the Evil Queen sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest to a land without magic. She took away all the happy endings because she did not want Snow White to live happily ever after. One person only could save the fairy tales: Princess Emma. She was sent through a magical wardrobe and protected from the curse but she wasn't alone. A boy accompanied her. A boy who promised to protect her. That boy was Pinocchio. That boy grew up to be the man lying in the crypt"

"The protector and the savior." The little boy said.

"That's right." Jonathan answered. "However, he was scared in this world without magic and had to leave her. People say that he never forgave himself for abandoning her. He lost his way and tried to drawn his guilt in the pleasures of the world. But destiny follows you everywhere you go and the day she decided to fight the Evil Queen, his punishment began. He started to turn back to wood. He tried to make her believe in the curse and in her destiny but when she finally did, it was too late. He had turned completely to wood. And magic did not work in that world as it does here. There was nothing anyone could do to save him.

"Many stories are told about what happened next. Some say that his last words to her were "I love you". Others claim that they had had a relationship when they were living in Storybrooke. But when I was a boy I heard her talking to her granddaughter, telling her the story. After she'd broken the curse, she had wanted to save him. But it had been impossible. It had been too late. She'd cried for days at the loss of her friend. And then she'd found a letter. A letter saying how much he loved her and he couldn't fight his feelings any longer. A letter asking her not to look for ways to bring him back because it would be a loss of time and efforts but to fight for her family and the happiness that she deserved. One thing is certain: the loss motivated her to finish the Evil Queen. And that is how he completed his destiny to guide her toward hers.

"When everyone came back to the Enchanted Forest they built the crypt and put his wooden body in the very same coffin that had kept Snow White. He's been lying inside ever since. As for her, she never wanted to rule. She felt like she had lost too much. But then he came to her in a dream telling her to go on with her life and allow the love of her family to fill the void in her heart, that he would always be there for her and that she should allow herself to love again. She accepted the crown and ruled as a fair Queen. But she never found love again. She refused to marry any of the suitors who asked for her hand. And now, she comes here every morning to talk to the only man that she allowed in her heart. She leaves a single rose on the top of the coffin and the rose is gone the next day."

"Why couldn't she have her happy ending?"

"Because the Evil Queen has corrupted all fairy tales and it was impossible for some of them to reach their happy ending."

OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT

Emma made her way in the crypt. She sat on the chair next to the glass coffin and looked at the puppet inside. Every time she looked at him, she hoped that he would wake up but after all those years she knew that there was no bringing him back.

"Good morning." She said. "I see you liked the rose. I brought you a white one today." She put the flower on top of the coffin. "Yesterday was Emily's first ball. She was so beautiful. And Henry was so proud. His little girl all grown up. He will have to guard her well. Even after 16 years I can't believe I left him name her after me. Well, at least he only took the first letter. I wouldn't want her to have the faith that I had."

She remained silent for a little while.

"I had that dream last night. The same I've been having for the past few months: you and me, in the park in Boston just lying down in the sun, Henry and that little girl with my eyes and your smile playing with a dog. Only this time the girl asked me when her little brother would be there. It felt so real. I wanted it to be." She was crying. "We should have been able to live it."

"We will." She heard a man's voice. "What you saw was a vision. A vision of a future life. A happy life."

"August?" She couldn't believe it. He was standing next to her. "You're alive." But then she looked at the puppet in the coffin.

"Not exactly. Not in this world anyway."

"Why are you here?" She asked. It was so nice to hear his voice.

"To do what I was always meant to. Guide you to your destiny. Come with me let us get together to the day that you saw in your dream."

"Is that really going to be us?" She asked.

"It can be. If you take the leap of faith and come with me." He offered her his hand. "Take my hand."

She reached for it, expecting that she would wake up from a dream or that she would feel the cold of a ghost. But no. His hand was warm and hadn't lost its carrying touch. She stood up and felt so light. Happiness overtook her body. She then stepped into the white light where August was leading her.

Later that day, Henry made his way to the crypt.

"Good Day, Jonathan." He greeted the gardener.

"Good Day, your highness."

"Have you seen my mother?"

"No, Sire. I saw her come in the crypt this morning as she does every day. Hasn't she returned in the palace?"

"No. Thank you." He said and entered the crypt obviously worried. "Mom? Mom, are you here?"

He saw his mother sitting on the chair, her head against the glass coffin. He didn't need to check for a pulse to know that she was dead. He hugged her lifeless body and cried silent tears. His mother was gone. He knew that there was nothing that he could do about it but it hurt so much. He didn't know how long he stayed like that without moving.

It was then that he saw it. The floor was filled with roses. All the roses that she had brought here on her daily visits. She was reunited with her beloved. Eventually, that was going to ease Henry's pain. She had found her happy ending.

It was a royal funeral as no-one had seen. People from the entire realm came to pay their respects to the savior. Henry was devastated. He stood next to the lake looking at the water. He would miss her. She meant so much to him. But he knew deep down that she was going to a better place and that would have to be enough for him. He felt one of the swans rub its head against his hand. Oh yes, she would always be with him.

OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT-OUAT

It was a sunny day and the park was full of people. A small family of four was having a picnic. The man, muscular and well built, was looking at his wife with such devotion that any woman who passed by felt jealous. The children, boy and girl, were throwing a ball that a dog was chasing all over the park. The woman, tall with green eyes and blond curls, was looking at her children, one hand on her pregnant belly. She had always admired her son's intelligence. He was such a smart boy. And her daughter. She was the prettiest girl in the entire world. She was a perfect mix of her parents. Her hair was brown like her father's but she had her mother's curls. She had inherited her mother's green eyes which meant that she had her daddy rapped around her finger. However when she smiled the same way as him, her mother wasn't able to refuse her anything either. She was soon brought back to reality by a hard kick in the kidney. She gasped.

"Everything all right?" Her husband asked.

"Fine. But your son seems to mistake my internal organs for a foot ball." She answered a little annoyed.

"His first kick." He smiled "That's my boy but don't kick your mommy in the kidneys. Instead why don't you try kicking daddy's hand?"

"Uh uh. I'm not falling for that again. You can give each other high fives when he out. But mommy is not a punching bag." The both laughed.

"Mommy, Mommy.3 The little girl ran to them. "Look what a beautiful blue bird."

"Yes it is beautiful, honey." She answered.

"But now you have to let it go. It has a family somewhere." Her dad explained and the girls let the bird go.

"Mommy, when will my baby brother be here? I can't wait to meet him." She asked.

"Soon, honey. Do you want to feel him kick?" the girl put her hand on her mom's belly.

"Did I kick that much when I was a baby?"

"And more." Her big brother approached them. "Mom said that you would be a kick boxer when you grew up."

"But I don't want to be a kick boxer. I am going to be a princess. Like Snow White."

"Fairy tales are not real." The boy said.

"Do you want me to tell you a little secret?" They dad said. "Everything is real and possible as long as you believe. Now go play." He turned to his wife. "You ok?"

"Yeah fine. It's just… It's like I've seen this before. The park, the kids."

"Maybe it's a memory from a previous life." He said sarcastically. They laughed. . "It would certainly prove one thing."

"What?"

"We've always found our way to each other and we always will: in this world; the previous or the next." With that they kissed. Life was good and they would always appreciate it because deep down they felt that they deserved this happiness.

THE END

_AN/ I know it's not written in the most conventional way and I know that the last part is a little cheesy but they aren't the same August and Emma anyway, so it's allowed. Besides the beginning was kind of sad so I thought that we deserved some fluff. _

_What do you think? Please Review. It's important to me._


End file.
